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The Horror! The Horror!

Hello fellow ‘festers – I’m back after a lengthy separation. Some of you might have been wondering whether I had simply vanished, never to return to write the column again. Fortunately (at least for some!) the answer is no: I have simply been taking my yearly holidays, covering the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival. And for that reason, most of this edition of The Horror! The Horror! will be dedicated to titles that I saw, came across or heard about there.

First, starting off with the absolute king of the festival: Tarsem Singh’s The Fall. Most of you will be Singh from his previous effort: the visually interesting but desolately boring Jennifer Lopez/Vincent D’Onofrio serial killer film The Cell. Now I know that there have been a number of people who did not enjoy The Fall but I for one can say that it is one of my favorite films of the year. I went in expecting another pretty but awful stab at cinema and instead saw one of the most magical, beautiful and immensely dark fairytales of my cinema going life. The imagery was astounding, the acting was stellar but most of all it was the script which exuded love towards cinema, towards its’ unnamed heroes but most of all towards it’s’ characters whom it had to take through some very difficult patches. I’m not sure what the release date for this film is but when it comes out, make sure you go see it on the big screen where it belong. You can watch the trailer here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yQt0QjWHUjY

(Oh and if anyone has a copy of ‘Yo ho ho’ the 1981 Bulgarian film on which this is based – please let me know. I’d love to see a copy of it.)

Next up is Dante 01 – the visually stunning new film from Marc Caro – the partner of Jean Pierre Jeunet with whom he directed films like Delicatessen and The City Of Lost Children. I’ll be honest: I had been very excited about seeing Dante 01. And twice before the film I had the lucky chance of meeting Marc Caro who came across as a funny, intelligent man. I told him how London was dying to see his film and he quipped: ‘No need to die to see it – just buy a ticket.’ which caught me off-guard as I was in full-on excitement mode. So come Monday morning 11 a.m. screening; I was seething with full anticipation. And then it happened. It completely failed to live up to my expectations. Ok so Dante 01 is not an awful film but by any standards it’s pretty average. It lacks a final reel and simply seems to drag on for dragging on’s sake. It looks prettier than a candy shop with but still lacks enormous amounts of substance. Perhaps the best thing about the film is that Dominique Pignon’s in it – and as always he’s very, very good. Dante 01 has been chosen as the opening film for Sci-Fi London next Friday so those who absolutely want to see it should saunter down to the Apollo. You can watch the trailer here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hbVAm2kBHP0&feature=related
 

Next up animation showcase Fear(s) Of The Dark (Peur(s) Du Noir). Bringing together some of the hottest graphic artists and animators of our times, Peur(s) Du Noir is straight out of the Amicus book of anthology. There are several tales, all showcasing different styles of animation, telling different reasons to be afraid of the dark – however it is not all doom and gloom as some segments are inherently humorous, with a female voiceover describing her fears which range from the ridiculous to the simply funny. All in all it is an excellent compilation, some parts stronger than others but well worth a watch nonetheless: you can watch the trailer here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cZ5_iutbxzQ&feature=related
 

(Though I recommend against it as it has some spoilerific scenes!)

And finally, something a little different: A new noir (well a remake of a Melville film0 from Alain Corneau, the director of the excellent All The mornings Of The World called La Deuxieme Soufflé (The Second Wind). Starring the ever-reliable Danielle Autielle as Gu, an aging gangster after one last hit before he leaves and Monica Belluci as his sultry girlfriend Manouche: La Deuxieme Soufflé is an excellent noir film that ticks all the boxes with tough men, codes of honor, misunderstanding and surprisingly enough: a fairly liberal amount of gore. The film is gorgeous to look at and Danielle Auteuil really pulls of the role of Gu, making any doubts about him playing a hard man vanish. The film also features in a surprisingly small but deserved role, Eric Cantona as the loyal henchman Alban who stands by both Manouche and Gu during their upheaval. The film will be making an appearance in the UK sometime soon but until then you can watch the trailer here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_QbAXqsAkao

And that’s it for this edition of The Horror! The Horror. I know we strayed a bit from the genre this week but let me assure it was well worth it for these titles.

Until next time

Evrim ‘The Duke’ Ersoy

P.s. On the same day you were watching ‘La Terza Madre’, the Istanbul audience enjoyed a midnight screening of the film: reports say that it went down a treat and that the screening was very full. It’s nice to see Dario’s film making the rounds all over the world.

P.s.2: Ditto The Orphanage. It was so popular; the staff was watching it on the last day of festival, the audience’s huge response having rattled their curiosity.

P.s.3: Next week, some oddities form Turkey. I managed to pick up some little gems, which will be of interest, I believe, to some of you. Oh and I forgot to tell you about the discovery of a poster shop which had original Turkish editions of Suspiria, Torso, The Exorcist and The Omen as well as a Cuckoo’s Nest which had images from The Shining and Christopher Lee as Dracula as well as some weird zombies in for good measure. Pics next week. (Or sooner as I believe they’re up on Facebook on our friend Alex Kidd’s page.)Until next time, enjoy!